Further histories of Maori occupation of the area can be found in the next section of the report.
After Pakeha settlement of the Bay of Plenty commenced, the ‘Katikati’ area was given the name of Bowentown after Governor Sir George Bowen who camped in the area in 1869. The first Pakeha settlers at Katikati referred to the twin headland as the Katikati Heads, and locals referred to the Maori settlement to the north of the heads as Bowentown. The recreation reserve was gazetted in 1897. The reserve was soon recognised by local authorities as a valuable source of revenue. In 1897 a charge was levied for camping which was locally referred to as a ‘firewood, fish and pipi tax’.5 Further information about the early history of the domain can be found in part 5 of this report.
At the turn of the century, trading scows regularly travelled between Tauranga, Bowentown, Katikati and Auckland carrying kauri and other cargo. Supplies were landed north of the heads where the land was flat and a post office and boarding house had been built in 1874. A store was built at Bowentown in 1906 and by 1910, when a stone wharf was built, the settlement had become a popular picnic destination. Between 1908 and 1911, a road from Waihi to Waihi Beach was formed which made access to Bowentown possible via the Ocean Beach route. Regattas were frequently held at Bowentown during these early years of the century and were a highlight of the year for Waihi and Katikati people:
Maori and Pakeha gathered at Otawhiwhi at Christmas-New Year to enjoy themselves with athletics, wrestling, chopping events, a rowing regatta and horse racing on the beach opposite Athenree. There were bonfires at night and dancing, with music by the Waihi Band, which ineluded several Otawhiwhi people.6
Bowentown has remained a popular holiday destination for both Maori and Pakeha. However, the area and the domain have in more recent times been dominated and controlled by Crown-appointed local boards. This land is now vested in the local council. The local tangata whenua have been largely excluded and are virtually invisible in the written records of the administration of the domain. The feeling of partnership and shared entertainments identified in the above quote was less evident in later years.
5 Evelyn Stokes, Whanau A Tauwhao: A History of a Ngaiterangi Hapu, Occasional Paper No 8, Centre for Maori Studies and Research, University of Waikato, Hamilton, 1980, p 72
6